Resource management method and apparatus for use in wireless communication system

ABSTRACT

A resource management method and apparatus allows or restricts use of some or all of the resources of entities of a wireless communication system. A radio resource management method of a radio access point includes receiving a measurement report from a terminal, selecting another radio access point for serving the terminal in cooperation with the serving radio access point based on the measurement report and a Handover Restriction List (HRL), and transmitting a request for serving the terminal to the selected another radio access point.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/544,803 filed on Aug. 19, 2019, which is a continuation of Ser. No.16/167,356 filed on Oct. 22, 2018 now U.S. Pat. No. 10,390,2655 issuedon Aug. 20, 2019, which is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 14/251,481 filed on Apr. 11, 2014 now U.S. Pat. No. 10,111,143issued on Oct. 23, 2018, which is based on and claims priority under 35U.S.C. § 119 to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2013-0040090 filed onApr. 11, 2013, Korean Patent Application No. 10-2013-0050118 filed onMay 3, 2013, and Korean Patent Application No. 10-2014-0029458 filed onMar. 13, 2014, the disclosures of which are herein incorporated byreference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND 1. Field

The present disclosure relates to a resource management method andapparatus of a wireless communication system. In more particular, thepresent disclosure relates to a method and apparatus for allowing orrestricting use of some or all of the resources of entities of thewireless communication system.

2. Description of Related Art

Mobile communication systems were developed to provide the subscriberswith voice communication services on the move. With the rapid advance oftechnologies, the mobile communication systems have evolved to supporthigh speed data communication services beyond the early voice-orientedservices.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a general mobile communication system.Referring to FIG. 1, the mobile communication system includes a UserEquipment (UE) 100, a Radio Access Network (RAN) 130, and a core network140. The RAN 130 may include a few components and, among them, thecomponent 120 which interacts with the UE 100 communicates with the UE100 through a radio interface 110 and connects to other components ofthe wireless communication system through wired links. Examples of theRAN component 120 include evolved Node B (eNB), Node B (NB) or RadioNetwork Subsystem (RNS) including it, Base Transceiver Station (BTS) orBase Station Subsystem (BSS) including it, wireless access point, HomeeNB, Home NB, Home eNB GateWay (GW), X2 GW, etc. For the conveniencesake, these components or the RAN itself is referred to as radio accesspoint in the following description.

With some exceptions, each of the radio access point 120 is comprised ofat least one cell having a predetermined area, and the UE 100 is servedby the corresponding radio access point within the cell area. Here, thecell denotes the cell of the general cellular system, and the radioaccess point 120 is the device of managing and controlling therespective cell but, in the present disclosure, the terms ‘cell’ and‘radio access point’ are used interchangeably in the same meaning.

In the resource-constrained wireless communication, efficient resourcemanagement is one of the most significant issues. In the conventionaltechnology, the information on the UE is retained in or passing only theserving radio access point 120 with some exceptional situation (e.g.right after handover; a radio access point A may have the information onthe UE for a predetermined duration after the handover over of the UEfrom the radio access point A to the radio access point B). Accordingly,the resource management is performed in association with UE mobilitymanagement in the conventional technology. This means that there is noneed of considering the resource management and the mobility managementseparately.

When the UE enters the connected state or stays in the connected state,it is possible to perform mobility management through locationregistration procedure or handover allowance determination. When the UEis in the idle state, UE may initiate mobility management.

If the UE attempts location registration procedure to the radio accesspoint which allows for mobility (if there is no problem in otheraspects), the location registration procedure is likely to be successfulsuch that the core network provides the radio access point with themobility management information. The radio access point is capable ofmaking a handover decision based on this information and, in any case,the source radio access point may send mobility restriction informationto the target radio access point. Examples of the mobility managementinformation may include Handover Restriction List (HRL).

If the UE attempts location registration procedure to the radio accesspoint which does not allow for mobility, this procedure is rejected. Ifthe mobility is rejected for the reason of non-allowance of mobility,the message notifying the UE of the rejection may include the cause ofthe non-allowance of mobility. In this case, the UE may modify,generate, or delete mobility management information under the UE'smanagement based on the cause information. The UE in the idle state iscapable of performing mobility management based on the mobilitymanagement information.

According to the conventional mobility management-based resourcemanagement method (in the case that the information on a UE is retainedin or passing one radio access point to which the UE has connected), aspecific radio access point may be configured to do not receive theinformation on a specific UE.

A description is mad of the exemplary case of using the mobilitymanagement-based resource management method. The types of small radioaccess points may be more various than those of the large radio accesspoints and thus there may be a difficulty to verify various types ofsmall radio access points in every case. The unidentified small radioaccess points are in the state that their security and stability are notverified yet and thus the resource management for the unidentified smallradio access points is made integrally with specific informationconfigured for them. For example, a specific unidentified radio accesspoint may be designated with location information restricted to apredetermined UE, e.g. UE carried by a government official, such thatthe UE of the government official cannot interact with the unidentifiedsmall radio access point.

Meanwhile, as the mobile data traffic demand grows, the resourceutilization method is being advanced to fulfill the growing mobile datatraffic demand. Recently, there is a big change in resource utilizationmethod. Unlike the conventional technology in which one UE interactswith tone radio access point, the recent technology allows one UE tointeract with two or more radio access points. In order accomplish this,cooperation at the radio access point level is required.

As an example, the 3^(rd) Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) isplanning to deal with the items standardizing the specificationsrequired for realizing the inter-eNB Carrier Aggregation (CA) andinter-eNB Coordinated Multi-Point transmission and reception (CoMP) asthe official items of Release 12. Through the standardization of Release12, the two technologies (inter-eNB CA and inter-eNB CoMP) are to bestandardized.

In more detail, the inter-eNB CA is the technology capable of allowingone UE to interact with two or more eNBs using carriers of differentfrequency bands. In the inter-eNB CA, one Master eNB (MeNB) managing aPrimary Cell (PCell) with which the UE interacts primarily and at leastone Secondary eNB (SeNB) managing a Secondary Cell (SCell) exist. Sincethe SeNB (as well as MeNB) is capable of interacting with the UE, theinformation on the UE may be retained in or passing the SeNB. In theinter-eNB CA, it may be possible for the UE to interact with two or moreeNBs using the carriers of overlapped frequency band as well as usingthe carriers of different frequency bands.

Meanwhile, the CoMP is the technology capable of allowing the eNBs tocooperate for interaction with one UE in order to mitigate the inter-eNBinterference caused by using the two or more eNBs using overlappedfrequency band. Since the multiple eNBs are capable of exchanging datawith one UE in the inter-eNB CoMP like the inter-eNB CA, the informationon the UE may be retained in or passing multiple eNBs.

In brief, the inter-eNB CA and inter-eNB CoMP have in common that theinformation on a UE may be retained in or passing multiple eNBs althoughsome differences exist there between.

This makes it possible to expect that there is a need of change inresource management method depending on the change of resourceutilization pattern. The present disclosure proposes a new resourcemanagement method.

SUMMARY

As described above, the change in resource utilization pattern causesthe possibility that the information on a UE is retained in or passingtwo or more radio access points. However, since the conventionalresource management method is designed based on the mobility managementconsidering interaction with only one radio access point, there is aneed of a new resource management method suitable for the UE capable ofinteracting with two or more radio access points.

In addition, the conventional mobility management-based resourcemanagement method is efficient for interaction with only one radioaccess point. In the case that one UE interacts with two or more radioaccess points, the resource management for the primary radio accesspoint can be performed based on the mobility management but the resourcemanagement for secondary radio access points may not be performed onlybased on the mobility management.

Also, the conventional mobility management-based resource managementmethod has a drawback in that the management is restricted to theresource of the radio access point, i.e. the radio resource management.As the components constituting the wireless communication system arediversified, it becomes necessary to manage the resources of othercomponents as well as radio access points.

To address the above-discussed deficiencies, it is a primary object toprovide a method and apparatus for managing the radio resources or otherwireless communication system resources for use of the UE in theinteraction with one or more radio access points with the participationof at least one of servers, UEs, radio access points, radio accessnetwork (RAN) control entities having the subscriber information.Examples of the RAN control entity may include Mobility ManagementEntity (MME) and Serving General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) SupportNode (SGSN).

In accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure, a radio resourcemanagement method of a radio access point is provided. The radioresource management method includes receiving a measurement report froma terminal, selecting another radio access point for serving theterminal in cooperation with the serving radio access point based on themeasurement report and a Handover Restriction List (HRL), andtransmitting a request for serving the terminal to the selected anotherradio access point.

In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, a radioresource management method of a radio access point is provided. Theradio resource management method includes receiving a request forserving a terminal from anther radio access which serves the terminalcurrently in cooperation with the another radio access point,determining whether to serve the terminal based on a HandoverRestriction List (HRL), and transmitting a response to the other radioaccess point depending on the determination result.

In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, a radioaccess point managing radio resource is provided. The radio access pointincludes a communication unit for transmitting and receiving data and acontroller for controlling to select, when a measurement report isreceived from a terminal, another radio access point for serving theterminal in cooperation with the serving radio access point based on themeasurement report and a Handover Restriction List (HRL) and to transmita request for serving the terminal to the selected another radio accesspoint.

In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, a radioaccess point managing radio resource is provided. The radio access pointincludes a communication unit for transmitting and receiving data and acontroller for controlling to determine, when a request requesting forserving a terminal is received from anther radio access which serves theterminal currently in cooperation with the another radio access point,whether to serve the terminal based on a Handover Restriction List (HRL)and to transmit a response to the other radio access point depending onthe determination result.

In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, a resourcemanagement of a terminal in a wireless communication system includesreceiving resource management information form a radio access point,storing the resource management information, controlling use of resourcebased on the stored resource management information, and transmits theresource management information or information generated by processingthe resource management information to the radio access point.

In accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure, a terminalmanaging resource includes a communication unit which receives resourcemanagement information from a radio access point and transmits theresource management information or information acquired by processingthe resource management information to the radio access point, a storageunit which store the received resource management information, acontroller which controls use of resource based on the storedinformation, and a processor which processes the received resourcemanagement information.

In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, a radioresource management method of a Radio Access Network (RAN) controlentity includes generating resource restriction information (ResourceRestriction List; RRL) including information for managing the radioresource and transmitting the resource restriction information to theradio access point.

In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, a radioresource management method of a radio access point includes receivingresource restriction information (Resource Restriction List; RRL)including information for managing radio resource from a Radio AccessNetwork (RAN) control entity and performing resource management for aterminal based on the resource restriction information.

In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, a radioresource management method of a terminal includes receiving resourcerestriction information (Resource Restriction List; RRL) includinginformation for managing radio resource from a radio access point andperforming resource management based on the resource restrictioninformation.

In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, a RadioAccess Network (RAN) control entity managing radio resource includes acommunication unit which communicates data with the outside and acontroller which generates resource restriction information (ResourceRestriction List; RRL) including information for managing radio resourceand controls the communication unit to transmit the resource restrictioninformation to the radio access point.

In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, a radioaccess point managing radio resource includes a communication unit whichreceives resource restriction information (Resource Restriction List;RRL) including information for managing the radio resource from a RadioAccess Network (RAN) control entity and a controller which performresource management for the terminal based on the resource restrictioninformation.

In accordance with still another aspect of the present disclosure, aterminal managing radio resource includes a communication unit whichreceives resource restriction information (Resource Restriction List;RRL) including information for managing the radio resource from theradio access point and a controller which perform resource managementbased on the resource restriction information.

Before undertaking the DETAILED DESCRIPTION below, it may beadvantageous to set forth definitions of certain words and phrases usedthroughout this patent document: the terms “include” and “comprise,” aswell as derivatives thereof, mean inclusion without limitation; the term“or,” is inclusive, meaning and/or; the phrases “associated with” and“associated therewith,” as well as derivatives thereof, may mean toinclude, be included within, interconnect with, contain, be containedwithin, connect to or with, couple to or with, be communicable with,cooperate with, interleave, juxtapose, be proximate to, be bound to orwith, have, have a property of, or the like; and the term “controller”means any device, system or part thereof that controls at least oneoperation, such a device may be implemented in hardware, firmware orsoftware, or some combination of at least two of the same. It should benoted that the functionality associated with any particular controllermay be centralized or distributed, whether locally or remotely.Definitions for certain words and phrases are provided throughout thispatent document, those of ordinary skill in the art should understandthat in many, if not most instances, such definitions apply to prior, aswell as future uses of such defined words and phrases.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of the present disclosure and itsadvantages, reference is now made to the following description taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like referencenumerals represent like parts:

FIG. 1 illustrates a mobile communication system;

FIG. 2 is a signal flow diagram illustrating a radio resource managementmethod according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a PLMN identifier storage procedureof the UE in a resource management method according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a signal flow diagram illustrating a radio resource managementmethod according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a signal flow diagram illustrating a radio resource managementmethod according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a signal flow diagram illustrating the radio resourcemanagement method according to another embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 7 is a signal flow diagram illustrating the radio resourcemanagement method according to another embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 8 is a signal flow diagram illustrating the radio resourcemanagement method according to another embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 9 illustrates a block diagram of the RAN control entity accordingto an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 10 illustrates a block diagram of the radio access point accordingto an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 11 illustrates a block diagram of the UE according to an embodimentof the present disclosure; and

FIG. 12 is a signal flow diagram illustrating the radio resourcemanagement method according to still another embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIGS. 1 through 12, discussed below, and the various embodiments used todescribe the principles of the present disclosure in this patentdocument are by way of illustration only and should not be construed inany way to limit the scope of the disclosure. Those skilled in the artwill understand that the principles of the present disclosure may beimplemented in any suitably arranged system or device. Exemplaryembodiments of the present disclosure are described with reference tothe accompanying drawings in detail. The same reference numbers are usedthroughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts. Detaileddescription of well-known functions and structures incorporated hereinmay be omitted to avoid obscuring the subject matter of the presentdisclosure.

Although the embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to theRAN abiding by the 3GPP standard Long Term Evolution (LTE) as corenetwork and Evolved Packet Core (EPC), the subject matter of the presentdisclosure can be applied to other types of communication system havingthe similar technical background with slight operation without departingfrom the scope of the present disclosure, and this will be understood bythose in the art of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a signal flow diagram illustrating a radio resource managementmethod according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 shows the signals flows in which the RAN control entity 220receives resource management information from the server 230 having thesubscriber information and sends the resource management information orthe information acquired by processing the resource management to atleast one of the radio access point 210 and the UE 200.

According to this embodiment, at least one of the server 230, the RANcontrol entity 220, the radio access point 210, and the UE 200 mayperform resource management based on the resource managementinformation.

At operation 240, the server 230 having the subscriber information mayreceive the subscriber information input by the user, the subscriberinformation including the information for use in resource management.The information for use in resource management may be the legacyinformation or the information defined newly. Examples of the previouslydefined information may include access restriction data(Access-Restriction-Data).

At operation 250, the server 230 having the subscriber information maysend the message including the information for use in resourcemanagement to the RAN control entity 220. The message may be the legacyInsert Subscriber Data Request message or a newly generate message. Theinformation for use in resource management may include at least one ofplan identifier, Tracking Area (TA) identifier, Location area (LA)identifier, Routing Area (RA) identifier, Radio Access Technology (RAT)name, frequency band, Shared Network Area (SNA) code, MME code, MMEgroup identifier, LTE cell Global Identifier (CGI), CGI, CentralScheduling Unit (CSU) identifier, Enhanced Serving Mobile LocationCenter (E-SMLC) identifier, and Location Measurement Unit (LMU)identifier.

The above exemplified identifier, code, RAT name, and frequency band maybe transmitted in the form of a bit stream or index. This makes itpossible to reduce the data size so as to improve transmissionefficiency. In the case that the data are transmitted in the form of abit stream, individual bits may represent the specific identifier, code,RAT name, and frequency band. At this time, 1 may indicate the item tobe restricted and 0 the item to be allowed (or vice versa). In the casethat the data are transmitted in the form of an index, the indicesindicating the identifier, code, RAT, and frequency band may be agreedbetween the transmitter and the receiver.

At operation 253, the RAN control entity 220 stores the information foruse in resource management as it is or after being processed. Afterward,the rand control entity 220 may use the stored information in resourcemanagement. For example, the RAN control entity 220 may transmit one ofaccept and reject messages of Non-Access Stratum (NAS) protocol forresource management in the Location Registration procedure. For example,the resource management may be performed in such a way of accepting theLocation Registration for the resource accepted in the storedinformation or rejecting the Location Registration for the resourcerejected in the stored information.

At operation 260, the RAN control entity 220 sends the radio accesspoint 210 the resource management information. The resource managementinformation of this operation may be the information stored by the RANcontrol entity 220 at operation 253, the information acquired byprocessing the stored information, the information generated by the RANcontrol entity 220, or the information transmitted from another systementity, e.g. OAM, to the RAN control entity 220.

The resource management information that may be transmitted at operation260 is referred to as Resource Restriction List (RRL) for conveniencepurpose. It is recognized that the resource management information maybe referred to as another term but not RRL inevitably. Also, the RRL isnot limited to including only the RRL but may include the information onthe accepted resource.

The RRL may include the information for restricting or allowing at leastone of the resources for use in Carrier Aggregation (CA) and CoordinatedMulti-Point transmission and reception (CoMP). That is, the RRL mayinclude the information of restricting data communication on the radioresource included in the RRL or allowing data communication only on theradio resource included in the RRL.

The RRL may be transmitted at least one of the S1AP message and RANAPmessage. In more detail, the RRL may be carried by at least one ofINITIAL CONTEXT SETUP REQUEST message, HANDOVER REQUEST message,DOWNLINK NAS TRANSPORT message, PAGING message, RELOCATION REQUESTmessage, and COMMON ID message. As notice by the names of the messagescapable of carrying the RRL, the RAN control entity 220 may transmit theRRL to the radio access point 210 in at least one of the LocationRegistration procedure, Service Request procedure, handover procedure,and when although not in any of these procedures the resource managementinformation stored in the RAN control entity 200 is changed.

Table 1 exemplifies the HRL including RRL, and table 2 exemplifies amessage when the RRL is included in IE at the same level of HRL.

TABLE 1 IE/Group Name Presence Serving PLMN M . . . . . . Forbidden TAsfor Resource Access O Forbidden inter RATs for Resource Access O . . . .. .

TABLE 2 IE/Group Name Presence Criticality Assigned Criticality MessageType M YES reject . . . . . . . . . . . . Handover Restriction List OYES ignore . . . . . . . . . . . . Resource Restriction List O YESignore

The RRL transmitted at operation 260 may be carried in at least one ofthe HRL as the legacy UE mobility management information, SNA AccessInformation, and NAS Protocol Data Unit (PDU) (see table 1) or may bethe Information Element (IE) as the same level of the HRL or SNA AccessInformation. The RRL may list at least one of the restricted resourceand allowed resource. The RRL may be expressed as an independent IEindicating the allowed resource and an independent IE indicating therestricted resource. Table 3 exemplifies the independent IE indicatingthe allowed resource and the independent IE indicating the restrictedresource separately. Although the RRL (IEs indicating allowed resourceand restricted resource) is at the same level as the HRL in table 3, itcan be expressed as IE at a level different from HRL. The RRL mayinclude at least one of the PLMN identifier, RAT name, TA identifier, LAidentifier, RA identifier, frequency band, SNS code, MME code, MME groupidentifier, CGI for LTE, CGI, CSU identifier, E-SMLC identifier, and LMUidentifier.

Table 3 exemplifies a message in with the RRL is split into at least toIEs.

TABLE 3 IE/Group Name Presence Criticality Assigned Criticality MessageType M YES reject . . . . . . . . . . . . Handover Restriction List OYES ignore . . . . . . . . . . . . Allowed Resource List O YES ignoreRestricted Resource List O YES ignore

The above exemplified identifier, code, RAT name, and frequency band maybe notified in the form of a bit stream or an index. This makes itpossible to reduce the data size so as to improve transmissionefficiency. In the case that the data are transmitted in the form of abit stream, individual bits may represent the specific identifier, code,RAT name, and frequency band. At this time, 1 may indicate the item tobe restricted and 0 the item to be allowed (or vice versa). In the casethat the data are transmitted in the form of an index, the indicesindicating the identifier, code, RAT, and frequency band may be agreedbetween the transmitter and the receiver

The RRL may be expressed as a simple indication. In the case that theRRL is expressed as the indication, the indication may represent therelationship with the RRL and HRL or SNA Access Information. Forexample, the indication may represent that the RRL is identical with theHRL or SNA Access Information.

At operation 263, the radio access point 210 may store the RRL.According to various embodiments, the radio access point 210 may performresource management based on the stored RRL. The resource management mayrepresent the resource management with the exception of the mobilitymanagement or the total resource management including mobilitymanagement.

In the wireless communication system according to the presentdisclosure, the relationship principle between the RRL and HRL may beconfigured. For example, the radio communication system may configuresuch that a set of the resource restricted by HRL becomes a subset ofthe set of the resource restricted by the RRL. Meanwhile, it isrecognized that the set of the resource restricted by the RRL can be thesubset of the set of the resource restricted by the HRL.

Examples of the resource management out of the mobility management mayinclude carrier aggregation configuration, CoMP configuration, and RANcontrol entity selection. In the case of the RAN control entityselection as an example of resource management, at least one of the PLMNidentifier, MME code, and MME group identifier can be sued. In moredetail, if the RRL is configured to restrict specific MME code, theradio access point 210 may be configured to do not select the MME havingthe corresponding MME code. That is, the above information can be usedin performing NAS Node Selection function (NNSF).

If it is stated that the RRL is identical with HRL or SNA AccessInformation, i.e. the information for use in resource management isidentical with the information for use in the legacy mobility management(e.g. RRL is expressed as indication), the radio access point 210 mayallow for access to the resource permitted for mobility for otherpurpose as well as mobility. In this case, the radio access point 210may restrict the access to the resource restricted for mobility forother purposes. As analogized simply from the above description, it isrecognized that the RRL may mean HRL through the embodiments of thepresent disclosure.

At operation 265, the radio access point 210 may send the UE 200 theresource management information. The resource management information maybe the RRL or the information acquired by processing the RRL. Theinformation may be carried in at least one of the DLInformationTransfermessage, RRCConnectionReconfiguration message, andRRCConnectionReestablishment message.

At operation 275, the UE 200 may store the information received from theradio access point 210. The information may be stored in the UniversalSubscriber Identity Module (USIM) and/or a storage unit of the UE 200.

The UE 200 may perform resource management based on the storedinformation. For example, the UE 200 in the idle state may use thestored information in selecting a PLMN or a radio access point to campon.

If the resource management information is transmitted to the UE 200using the DLInformationTransfer message, this is the case that theresource management information is transmitted through a NAS messagebetween the RAN control entity 220 and the UE 200. Examples of the NASmessage carrying the resource management information include Attachaccept message, Attach reject message, Tracking area update acceptmessage, Tracking area update reject message, Routing area update acceptmessage, and Routing area update reject message.

The information which the UE 200 has received may be stored in USIM inthe form of the Elementary File (EF). The information may be stored intothe previously store EF or in a newly generated EF in the form of anappropriate resource management information. For example, if theinformation received from the radio access point 210 includes anaccess-restricted TA identifier, the UE 200 generates a new EF (e.g.EFFTAC) in the USIM for storing the TA identifier.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a PLMN identifier storage procedureof the UE in a resource management method according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure.

In detail, FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating the UE procedure forstoring PLMN identifier.

According to this embodiment, if a new PLMN identifier is received inthe stat the maximum number of PLMN identifiers is stored, the UEselects one of the stored PLMN identifiers in a method different fromthe conventional method and discards the selected PLMN identifier tostore the newly received PLMN identifier. At this time, the PLMNidentifier may be the restricted identifier or allowed identifier.

At operation 300, the UE 200 receives a new PLMN identifier. The PLMNidentifier may be carried in the NAS message transmitted by the RANcontrol entity 220, transmitted by the radio access point 210, orthrough other path.

At operation 310, the UE 200 determines whether the number of PLMNidentifiers has reached maximum number of PLMN identifiers. Suppose thatthe maximum number of PLMN identifiers that can be stored in the UE 200is n for convenience purpose.

If the number of stored PLMN identifiers has not reach n yet, theprocedure goes to operation 330. Since the UE 200 has room for storingthe newly received PLMN identifier, there is no need to select any PLMNidentifier to be discarded in normal case.

If the number of stored PLMN identifiers has reached n already, theprocedure goes to operation 320. The UE 100 selects one of the total(n+1) PLMN identifiers (n previously stored PLMN identifiers and newlyreceived PLMN identifier). The selected PLMN identifier may be any ofthe non-protected PLMN identifier, PLMN identifier at the highest levelamong the previously stored non-protected PLMN identifiers, PLMNidentifier at the lowest level among the previously stored non-protectedPLMN identifiers, PLMN identifier at the highest level among thepreviously stored PLMN identifiers, and PLMN identifier at the lowestlevel among the previously stored PLMN identifier.

At operation 340 following operation 320 or 330, the PLMN identifiersnot selected are stored constantly. At this time, the storage positionsmay be changed. If the newly received PLMN identifier is not selected,it may be stored at the position which has been occupied by the selectedPLMN.

It is recognized that the method of this embodiment can be applied, aswell as storing PLMN identifier, to storing at least one of RAT name, TAidentifier, LA identifier, RA identifier, frequency band, SNA code, MMEcode, MME group identifier, LTE CCI, CCI, CSU identifier, E-SMLCidentifier, and LMU identifier.

FIG. 4 is a signal flow diagram illustrating a radio resource managementmethod according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

In detail, FIG. 4 is a signal flow diagram illustrating signal flows fortransmitting resource management information from the UE 400 to theradio access point 410 and the radio access point 410 to another radioaccess point 440.

According to this embodiment, the UE 400 may send the radio access point410 the information for use in resource management, and the radio accesspoint 410 performs resource management based on this information. Ifnecessary, the other radio access point 400 is capable of receiving theinformation for use in the resource management.

At operation 415, the UE 400 may receive the resource managementinformation through the procedure of an embodiment of the presentdisclosure. The UE 400 also may receive the resource managementinformation through other paths.

At operation 420, the UE 400 may send the radio access point 410 theresource management information. The resource management information mayinclude at least one of PLMN identifier, RAT name, TA identifier, LAidentifier, RA identifier, frequency band, SNA code, MME code, MME groupidentifier, LTE CGI, CGI, CSU identifier, E-SMLC identifier, and LMUidentifier. The resource management information may be carried in atleast one of RRCConnectionRequest message and RRCConnectionSetupCompletemessage.

The above exemplified identifier, code, RAT name, and frequency band maybe transmitted in the form of a bit stream or index. This makes itpossible to reduce the data size so as to improve transmissionefficiency. In the case that the data are transmitted in the form of abit stream, individual bits may represent the specific identifier, code,RAT name, and frequency band. At this time, 1 may indicate the item tobe restricted and 0 the item to be allowed (or vice versa). In the casethat the data are transmitted in the form of an index, the indicesindicating the identifier, code, RAT, and frequency band may be agreedbetween the transmitter and the receiver.

At operation 430, the radio access point 410 may store the resourcemanagement information or the information acquired by processing it.Throughout the embodiments, the radio access point 410 may performresource management based on the stored resource management information.The resource management may represent the resource management with theexception of the mobility management or the total resource managementincluding mobility management.

Examples of the resource management out of the mobility management mayinclude carrier aggregation configuration, CoMP configuration, and RANcontrol entity selection. In the case of the RAN control entityselection as an example of resource management, at least one of the PLMNidentifier, MME code, and MME group identifier can be sued. In moredetail, if the RRL is configured to restrict specific MME code, theradio access point 210 may be configured to do not select the MME havingthe corresponding MME code. That is, the above information can be usedin performing NAS Node Selection function (NNSF).

At operation 450, the radio access point 410 may send another radioaccess point 440 the resource management information. The informationmay include at least one of PLMN identifier, RAT name, TA identifier, LAidentifier, RA identifier, frequency band, SNA code, MME code, MME groupidentifier, LTE CGI, CGI, CSU identifier, E-SMLC identifier, and LMUidentifier. This information is referred to as RRL for the conveniencepurpose. The RRL transmitted at the operation may be identical with theinformation which the radio access point 410 has received from the RANcontrol entity previously.

The above exemplified identifier, code, RAT name, and frequency band maybe transmitted in the form of a bit stream or index. This makes itpossible to reduce the data size so as to improve transmissionefficiency. In the case that the data are transmitted in the form of abit stream, individual bits may represent the specific identifier, code,RAT name, and frequency band. At this time, 1 may indicate the item tobe restricted and 0 the item to be allowed (or vice versa). In the casethat the data are transmitted in the form of an index, the indicesindicating the identifier, code, RAT, and frequency band may be agreedbetween the transmitter and the receiver.

The information transmitted at operation 450 may be carrier in at leastone of the INITIAL UE message and HANDOVER REQEUST message. Particularlywhen the radio access point 410 does not support NNSF, the informationmay be carried in the INITIAL UE message. Examples of the radio accesspoints not supporting NNSF may include HeNB. The information may becarried in a new message which has never been defined in theconventional method. Examples of the new message may include a messagetransmitted in the SCell addition procedure and reconfigurationprocedure.

At operation 460, the radio access point 440 may perform a part or allof the operation performed by the radio access point 310 at operation430. Particularly when the radio access point 440 is the SCell for theUE 400, the radio access point 440 may participate in SCellconfiguration of the UE 400 afterward.

In detail, the SCell configuration is not determined by only the primaryradio access point and, when the secondary radio access pointparticipates in addition SCell configuration, the secondary radio accesspoint 440 may perform additional SCell configuration using the resourcemanagement information received from the radio access point 410.

FIG. 5 is a signal flow diagram illustrating a radio resource managementmethod according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

In detail, FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating signal flows carrying radiomanagement information from the OAM 500 to the radio access point 510.

At operation 515, the OAM 500 has the resource management information.Typically, the OAM stores the information by unit larger than UE, e.g.radio access point, TA, and PLMN. For example, the OAM may have theinformation of preventing the UE connecting to a certain PLMN from usinga predetermined PLMN resource. A predetermined radio access point 510may has the information of restricting the user of the resource of theradio access point associated with a predetermined PLMN. Of course, theOAM may have the information by UE. If the OAM has the information byUE, the information may be similar to the RRL according to an embodimentof the present disclosure.

At operation 520, the OAM 500 sends the radio access point 510 theresource management information. At this time, the resource managementinformation may be the information retained at the OAM 500 at operation.

At operation 530, the radio access point 510 stores the receivedinformation and performs resource management based thereon. For example,if the receiving information is of preventing the UE connected to PLMN Afrom using the resource of PLMN B, the UE connected to the PLMN A is notallowed for mobility to the PLMN B and using the resource of PLMN B.This may be applied to the case where the PLMN B is an equivalent PLMN(ePLMN) of the PLMN A.

FIG. 6 is a signal flow diagram illustrating the radio resourcemanagement method according to another embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

In detail, FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating signal flows for adding theradio access point 920 interacting secondarily with the UE 900 based onthe resource management capability of the primary radio access point910.

At operation 950, the UE 900 may send the radio access point 901 ameasurement report. The measurement report may be transmitted in theMeasurementReport message. The measurement report may exclude a part orall of the information on the resource restricted in the resourcemanagement information based on the resource management informationwhich may be retained by the UE 900.

For example, the UE 900 may not transmit the all information on theradio resource restricted but only the identifier without referencesignal strength measurement for the radio resource configured to berestricted. Examples of the reference signal strength measurementinclude RSRP-Range and RSRQ-Range. The identifier may be any ofPhysCellId, CellGlobalIdEUTRA, TrackingAreaCode, and PLMN-Identity.

In addition, the UE 900 may include an indicator indicating therestricted resource restricted by the resource management information inthe Measurement report. If the indicator is received, the radio accesspoint 960 may control the UE 200 to do not use the radio resourceindicated by the indicator.

At operation 960, the radio access point 910 may make a decision ofadding a radio access point interacting secondarily with the UE 900. Atthis time, the decision may be made based on the measurement result ofthe UE 900. The secondary radio access point may be the radio accesspoint establishing control plane and/or user plane with the UE 900secondarily as well as SCell. In CoMP technology allowing a UE toestablish the user plane with a plurality radio access points (JointProcessing, Joint Transmission, Dynamic Point Selection, and dualconnectivity), the radio access points, with the exception of the radioaccess point serving the UE primarily, are to be the examples ofsecondary radio access points. An example of radio access point is eNB.

The radio access point 910 is capable of determining whether the radioaccess point 920 is available as a secondary radio access point of theUE 900 in consideration on whether the radio access point 920 fulfillsat least one of the following conditions.

-   -   The radio access point 920 is not included in the resource        restricted by at least one of RRL and HRL.    -   The radio access point 920 is included in the resource allowed        by at least one of RRL and HRL.    -   The radio access point 920 is included in the resource allowed        by the Subscriber Profile Identity (SPID) of the UE 900.    -   The radio access point 920 has the same feature as the primary        radio access point 910.

The feature may represent at least one of same PLMN identifier, ePLMNidentifier, same TA identifier, same RAT name, same MME code, same MMEgroup identifier, and same Physical Cell Identity (PCI) range. Forexample, the radio access point 910 may perform resource management suchthat the radio access point having the same TA identifier as the radioaccess point 910 is configured as the SCell of the UE 900.

In various embodiments of the present disclosure, RRL and HRL may beused in the same meaning and thus RRL may indicate HRL.

In the case that the other radio access point 920 is determinedavailable as a secondary radio access point of the UE 900, the radioaccess point 910 may requests the other radio access point 920 tooperate as the secondary radio access point of the UE 900. In order toaccomplish this, the radio access point 910 may send the other radioaccess point a request message. Examples of the request message mayinclude HANDOVER REQUEST message and a newly defined message (e.g.SECONDARY CELL ADDITION REQUEST). The request message may include atleast one of HRL, serving PLMN identifier, equivalent PLMN identifier,TA code, TA identifier, MME code, MME group identifier, PCI, and LTECGI. In an embodiment, the HLR may include at least one of serving PLMNidentifier, equivalent PLMN identifier, and restricted or allowed TAcode as exemplified in table 1. The radio access point 920 may store apart or all of the information included in the message. The information920 may be used in Radio Resource Management (RRM) of the radio accesspoint 920 and access control. For example, if the radio access point 920is a Closed Subscriber Group radio access point, the radio access point920 may determine whether the corresponding UE 900 can use the resourceof the radio access point using the serving PLMN. At this time, themessage may further include the CSG identifier. In another example, theradio access point 920 may use the serving PLMN for load balancingbetween radio access points or rand control entities and/or public alarmmessage transmission.

If the request message is received, the radio access point 920 storesthe information acquired from the request message for use in determiningwhether to interact with the UE 900.

If the request message includes any item which the radio access point920 cannot support, the radio access point 920 may reject the request.For example, if the radio access point 920 does not support the TAidentifier included in the request message, the radio access point 920may reject the request message. For another example, if it is determinedthat the ePLMN identifier cannot be used, the radio access point 920 mayreject the request message. In this way, although any informationcontained in the request message is not supportable by the radio accesspoint 920, the request message may be rejected. In an embodiment, if thereceived request message includes no HRL, the radio access point 920 maydetermine that the access restriction is not applied to the UE 900.

At operation 975, the radio access point 920 may sends a responsemessage in reply to the request. The response message may be any of anaccept message and reject message. At this time, the radio access point920 may include at least one of LTE CGI and PCI of the cell of the radioaccess point 920 to interact with the UE 900 in the response message.The reject message may include the cause of rejection. The radio accesspoint 910 may consider the received cause information in mobilitymanagement and/or selecting the secondary radio access point ormodifying neighbor relationship table. For example, the radio accesspoint 910 may check the cell of the radio access point, e.g. No SCellattribute, in the neighbor relationship table based on the receivedcause information. In the present disclosure, if a cell is checked withNo SCell attribute, this means the cell is no used as SCell.

The radio access point 920 may designate a cell different from the cellwhich the radio access point 910 has recommended (cell identified withthe cell identifier transmitted at operation 970) as the secondary cellof the UE 900. In this case, the cell identifier of the radio accesspoint 920 which is transmitted at operation 975 may differ from the cellidentifier transmitted at operation 970. This operation is useful forrecommending another cell when the cell of the radio access point 920 isoverloaded.

At operation 980, if the response message is the accept message, theradio access points 910 and 920 and the UE 900 may perform the procedureof adding the radio access point 920 as a secondary radio access point.In this procedure, at least one of the radio access points 910 and 920may send the UE 900 the RRCConnectionReconfiguration message to notifythat the radio access point 920 is added as the secondary radio accesspoint. The UE 900 replies and performs random access procedure with theradio access point 920.

At operation 990, at least one of the radio access points 910 and 920may notify the RAN control entity 930 of the addition of the radioaccess point 920 as the secondary radio access point. The RAN controlentity 930 may send at least one of the radio access points 910 and 920the RRL.

At this time, if the radio access point 910 is intended to add or hasadded the radio access point not allowed in RRL as SCell, the responsemessage may be the reject or failure message.

If the response message is the reject message, the response message maybe HANDOVER PREPARATION FAILURE message. In this case, the responsemessage may include the information on the cause of the reject orfailure and wrong data information.

The above description is an exemplary resource management method of theRAN control entity 930.

In the above embodiment, the radio access points 910 and 920 may bereferred to as source and target eNBs, respectively.

FIG. 7 is a signal flow diagram illustrating the radio resourcemanagement method according to another embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

According to this embodiment, the radio access points 1000 and 1010 maynotify whether the peer radio access point can be used as a secondaryradio access point with each other through an interface there between.Examples of the interface may include X2AP and NBAP. According to thisembodiment, the message exchanged through the X2AP or NBAP may includethe information useful between the radio access points 1000 and 1010 andis advantageous in performing radio resource management with theaddition of simple information.

At operation 1020, the radio access point 1000 may send the radio accesspoint 1010 the information notifying whether the corresponding radioaccess point can be sued as a secondary radio access point. Thisinformation may indicate that the information sender can be thesecondary radio access point of the information receiver or theinformation receiver can be the secondary radio access point of theinformation sender. By taking notice that the radio access point maymean the cell, it is recognized that the information may be theinformation on the radio resource at a level lower than that of eNB.

The information may be expressed in the form of an indicator. Theinformation also may be transmitted using at least one of the X2 SETUPREQUEST message and ENB CONFIGURATION UPDATE message.

The radio access point 1000 may configure the information inconsideration of at least one of PLMN identifier, ePLMN identifier, TAcode, TA identifier, RAT name, HRL, and RRL of the radio access point1010.

At operation 1030, the radio access point 1010 may send the radio accesspoint 1000 the information on whether the radio access point can be usedsecondarily. The information transmitted at this operation may besimilar to the information transmitted at operation 1020. Theinformation may be transmitted in one of the X2 SETUP RESPONSE and ENBCONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE messages.

If a rule of secondary use of radio access point has been determinedsuch that the radio access point 100 can(not) use the radio access point1010 as the secondary radio access point the radio access point alsocan(not) use the radio access point 1000 as the secondary radio accesspoint, one of the operations 1020 and 1030 for transmitting theinformation may be omitted.

FIG. 8 is a signal flow diagram illustrating the radio resourcemanagement method according to another embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

According to this embodiment, the radio access point 1110 may manage theradio resource in such a way of configuring Automatic Neighbor Relationusing the information received from the UE 1100 and/or other radioaccess point.

The radio access point 1110 may have ANR function. ANR is capable ofallowing the radio access point 1110 to manage the Neighbor RelationTable (NRT). The radio access point 1110 may add the information on theuse of secondary radio access point to the NRT. For example, the radioaccess point 1110 may add items such and No SCell to the NRT such thatthe cell for which No SCell item is marked is not selected as secondaryradio access point.

Table 4 exemplifies the Neighbor Relation Table (NRT) managed by theradio access point 1110 when the No SCell item is added to NRT. Table 4is directed to the case when a new item is added to the NRT.

TABLE 4 Neighbor cell Relation Target Cell identifier . . . No SCell 1TCI#1 . . . ✓ 2 TCI#2 . . . 3 TCI#3 . . . ✓ . . . . . . . . . . . .

At operation 1120, the radio access point 1110 receives the informationon the neighbor radio access point from the UE 1100 and, if thecorresponding neighbor radio access point is not known yet, requests theUE 1110 for additional information thereon.

At operation 1120, the radio access point 1110 may edit the NRTappropriately. The radio access point 1110 may edit the NRT inconsideration of at least one of the PLMN identifier, ePLMN identifier,TA code, TA identifier, RAT identifier, MME code, MME group identifier,Physical Cell Identifier (PCI) range, HRL, and RRL in association withthe radio access point corresponding to the provided information. Forexample, the radio access point 1110 may mark the No SCell item of thecell belonging to the restricted region in the HRL. As described in oneof the embodiments, whether to mark the No SCell item is determinedthrough information exchange with other radio access point or based onthe information configured by the OAM.

FIG. 12 is a signal flow diagram illustrating the radio resourcemanagement method according to still another embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

According to this embodiment, if new resource management information forthe UE served primarily by the radio access point 1200 is received,radio access point 1200 may change the configuration to the radio accesspoint 1210 serving the UE secondarily based on the new resourcemanagement information.

At operation 1250, the radio access point 1200 may receive the resourcemanagement information for the UE served primarily by the cell of theradio access point 120. Here, the resource management information may beHRL. Although FIG. 12 is directed to the case where the radio accesspoint 1200 receives the resource management information from the RANcontrol entity 1220, the resource management information may be receivedfrom other network entity (e.g. OAM and another radio access point).Examples of the message carrying the resource management informationinclude S1: INITIAL CONTEXT SETUP REQUEST message, S1: HANDOVER REQUESTmessage, S1: DOWNLINK NAS TRANSPORT message, and X2: HANDOVER REQUESTmessage. The radio access point 1200 may store the resource managementinformation. In the case that the resource management information ispresent already, the radio access point 1200 replaces the old resourcemanagement information with the newly received resource managementinformation.

If the received resource management information triggers change in theroaming and area restricting mechanism of the radio access point 1200,it may be necessary to release the radio access point 1210 serving theUE secondarily. For example, if the cell of the secondary radio accesspoint 1210 of the UE which has been included in the area allowed to theUE is not included in the area allowed to the UE any longer as a resultof checking the resource management information for the UE which hasreceived newly from the radio access point 1200 serving the UEprimarily, it is may be necessary to release connection between theradio access point 1210 and the UE.

At operation 1260, the radio access point 1200 may send a messagerequesting or commanding the radio access point belonging to the areawhich is not allowed any longer to release the function as SCell. Thismessage may be referred to as SCELL RELEASE REQUEST or SCELL RELEASECOMMAND. This message may include the cause of release. The cause may bethe roaming and area restriction. The radio access point 1210 may notifythe radio access point 1200 that the release is successful at operation1270.

In various embodiments of the present disclosure, the radio access point1200 may send the UE a message notifying of or configuring the stop ofserving the UE secondarily any more. The message may be theRRCConnectionReconfiguration message. The UE may perform SCell releaseto the cell of the radio access point 1210 and send a response message(e.g. RRCConnectionReconfigurationComplete message).

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the RANcontrol entity according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 9, the RAN control entity 600 according to anembodiment of the present disclosure includes a communication unit 610,a controller 620, and a storage unit 630.

The communication unit 610 is responsible for data communication withthe outside.

The controller 620 generates the resource restriction information(Resource Restriction List; RRL) including the information for use inradio resource and control the communication unit 610 to transmit theresource restriction information to the radio access point according toan embodiment of the present disclosure. At this time, the resourcerestriction information may include the information for restricting orallowing at least one of the resources for use in Carrier Aggregation(CA) and Coordinated Multi-Point transmission and reception (CoMP). Theresource restriction information may include at least one of PLMNidentifier, Radio Access Technology (RAT) name, Tracking Area (TA)identifier, Routing Area (RA) identifier, frequency band, Shared NetworkArea (SNA) code, MME code, MME group identifier, Cell Global Identifier(CGI), Central Scheduling Unit (CSU) identifier, Enhanced Serving MobileLocation Center (E-SMLC) identifier, and Location Measurement Unit (LMU)identifier.

The controller 620 may store the received RRL or the informationgenerated by processing the RRL in the storage unit 630.

The controller 620 may control the communication unit 610 to transmitthe received RRL or the information generated by processing the RRL.

The controller 620 may control the components of the RAN control entity600 to perform the operations as described in the embodiments of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the radioaccess point according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 10, the radio access point 700 may include acommunication unit 710, a controller 720, and a storage unit 730.

The communication unit 710 is responsible for data communication withthe outside. The communication unit 710 may receive the resourcerestriction information (RRL) including the information for use in radioresource management from at least one of the RAN control entity andother radio access points.

The resource restriction information includes the information forrestricting or allowing at least one of the resources for use in CarrierAggregation (CA) and Coordinated Multi-Point transmission and reception(CoMP). The resource restriction information may also include at leastone of PLMN identifier, Radio Access Technology (RAT) name, TrackingArea (TA) identifier, Routing Area (RA) identifier, frequency band,Shared Network Area (SNA) code, MME code, MME group identifier, CellGlobal Identifier (CGI), Central Scheduling Unit (CSU) identifier,Enhanced Serving Mobile Location Center (E-SMLC) identifier, andLocation Measurement Unit (LMU) identifier.

The controller 720 performs resource management for the UE based on thereceived resource restriction information. The controller 720 mayperform resource management such that the UE does not use the resourceindicated by the resource restriction information for datacommunication.

The controller 720 may store the received resource restrictioninformation or the information generated by processing the resourcerestriction information in the storage unit 730.

The controller 720 may control the communication unit 710 to transmitthe received resource restriction information or the informationgenerated by processing the resource restriction information to anotherradio access point or the UE.

The controller 720 may control the components of the radio access points700 to perform the operations as described in above embodiments of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the UEaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 11, the UE 800 includes a communication unit 810, acontroller 820, and a storage unit.

The communication unit 810 is responsible for communication with theoutside. The communication unit 810 receives the resource restrictioninformation (RRL) including the information for use in radio resourcemanagement from the radio access point. The resource restrictioninformation may include the information for restricting or allowing atleast one of the resources for use in Carrier Aggregation (CA) andCoordinated Multi-Point transmission and reception (CoMP). The resourcerestriction information may include at least one of PLMN identifier,Radio Access Technology (RAT) name, Tracking Area (TA) identifier,Routing Area (RA) identifier, frequency band, Shared Network Area (SNA)code, MME code, MME group identifier, Cell Global Identifier (CGI),Central Scheduling Unit (CSU) identifier, Enhanced Serving MobileLocation Center (E-SMLC) identifier, and Location Measurement Unit (LMU)identifier.

The communication unit 820 performs resource management of the UE usingthe received resource restriction information. In detail, the controller820 may perform resource management such that the UE does not use theresource indicated by the resource restriction information for datacommunication. Particularly, the controller 820 may perform the resourcemanagement such that a part or all of the information on the resourceindicated by the resource restriction information is not included in themeasurement report.

The controller 820 may store the received resource restrictioninformation or the information generated by processing the resourcerestriction information in the storage unit 830.

The controller 820 may control the communication unit 820 to transmitthe received resource restriction information or the informationacquired by processing the resource restriction information to the radioaccess point.

The controller 820 may control the components of the UE 800 to performthe operations as described in the above embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

In the above-described embodiments, individual operations may beperformed or omitted selectively. Also, it is not inevitable for theoperations to be performed in the order as described in the respectiveembodiments.

As described above, the resource management method and apparatus of thepresent disclosure is advantageous in managing the radio resource andother wireless communication system resource when the UE interacts withone or more radio access points.

Although the present disclosure has been described with an exemplaryembodiment, various changes and modifications may be suggested to oneskilled in the art. It is intended that the present disclosure encompasssuch changes and modifications as fall within the scope of the appendedclaims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method performed by a first base station in awireless communication system, the method comprising: selecting asecondary base station based on information on access restriction for auser equipment (UE); transmitting, to the secondary base station, afirst message for requesting allocation of resources for dualconnectivity of the UE, the first message including a public land mobilenetwork (PLMN) identifier; and receiving, from the secondary basestation, a second message as a response to the first message, whereinthe PLMN identifier is used to manage radio resources for the dualconnectivity of the UE.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the firstmessage comprises a secondary base station addition request message andthe second message comprises a secondary base station addition requestacknowledge message.
 3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:receiving, from a core network entity, the information on accessrestriction for the UE, wherein the information on access restrictionfor the UE includes information on restrictions to be applied for amobility action.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein: the information onaccess restriction includes a list of PLMN identifiers; and the firstbase station comprises a master base station.
 5. The method of claim 1,further comprising: receiving a measurement report from the UE, whereinthe secondary base station is selected in further consideration of themeasurement report.
 6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:editing a neighbor relation table (NRT) based on a cause of rejection,in case that the received second message is a reject message includingthe cause of rejection.
 7. A method performed by a secondary basestation in a wireless communication system, the method comprising:receiving, from a first base station, a first message for requestingallocation of resources for dual connectivity of a user equipment (UE),the first message including a public land mobile network (PLMN)identifier; transmitting, to the first base station, a second message asa response to the first message; and managing radio resources for thedual connectivity of the UE based on the PLMN identifier, wherein thesecondary base station is selected based on information on accessrestriction for the UE.
 8. The method of claim 7, wherein: the firstmessage comprises a secondary base station addition request message andthe second message comprises a secondary base station addition requestacknowledge message; the information on access restriction includes alist of PLMN identifiers; and the first base station comprises a masterbase station.
 9. The method of claim 7, wherein the information onaccess restriction for the UE is transmitted by a core network entity tothe first base station, and the information on access restriction forthe UE includes information on restrictions to be applied for a mobilityaction.
 10. The method of claim 7, wherein the second message comprisesat least one PLMN identifier selected by the secondary base station andcomprises a load status corresponding to the at least one PLMNidentifier.
 11. A first base station in a wireless communication system,the first base station comprising: a communication unit; and a processorconfigured to: select a secondary base station based on information onaccess restriction for a user equipment (UE), transmit, to the secondarybase station via the communication unit, a first message for requestingallocation of resources for dual connectivity for the UE, the firstmessage including a public land mobile network (PLMN) identifier, andreceive, from the secondary base station via the communication unit, asecond message as a response to the first message, wherein the PLMNidentifier is used to manage radio resources for the dual connectivityof the UE.
 12. The first base station of claim 11, wherein the firstmessage comprises a secondary base station addition request message andthe second message comprises a secondary base station addition requestacknowledge message.
 13. The first base station of claim 11, wherein:the processor is further configured to receive, from a core networkentity via the communication unit, the information on access restrictionfor the UE; and the information on access restriction for the UEincludes information on restrictions to be applied for a mobilityaction.
 14. The first base station of claim 11, wherein: the informationon access restriction includes a list of PLMN identifiers; and the firstbase station comprises a master base station.
 15. The first base stationof claim 11, wherein: the processor is further configured to receive,from the UE via the communication unit, a measurement report; and thesecondary base station is selected in further consideration of themeasurement report.
 16. The first base station of claim 11, wherein theprocessor is further configured to control an editing neighbor relationtable (NRT) based on cause of rejection in case that the received secondmessage is a reject message including the cause of rejection.
 17. Asecondary base station in a wireless communication system, the secondarybase station comprising: a communication unit; and a processorconfigured to: receive, from a first base station via the communicationunit, a first message, which includes a public land mobile network(PLMN) identifier, for requesting allocation of resources for dualconnectivity of a user equipment (UE), transmit, to the first basestation via the communication unit, a second message as a response tothe first message, and manage radio resources for the dual connectivityof the UE based on the PLMN identifier, wherein the secondary basestation is selected based on information on access restriction for theUE.
 18. The secondary base station of claim 17, wherein: the firstmessage comprises a secondary base station addition request message andthe second message comprises a secondary base station addition requestacknowledge message; the information on access restriction includes alist of PLMN identifiers; and the first base station comprises a masterbase station.
 19. The secondary base station of claim 17, wherein: theinformation on access restriction for the UE is transmitted by a corenetwork entity to the first base station; and the information on accessrestriction for the UE includes information on restrictions to beapplied for a mobility action.
 20. The secondary base station of claim17, wherein the second message comprises at least one PLMN identifierselected by the secondary base station and comprises a load statuscorresponding to the at least one PLMN identifier.